Die block for wire drawing machines



Marh 31, 1953 R. c. KIVLYEY 2,633,234

DIE BLOCK FOR WIRE DRAWING MAGHINES Filed Oct. 4, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 I BY A T TORNEY March 31, 1953 R c, KlvLEY 2,633,234

' DIE BLOCK FOR WIRE DRAWING MACHINES Filed Oct. 4, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 v INVENTOR R.C.K/VLEV .BYM

ATITORNEY March 31, 1953 R. c. KlVLEY 1 2,633,234

DIE BLOCK FOR WIRE DRAWING MACHINES Filed Oct. 4, 1950 ASheets-Sheet 5 Fla. 3

lNl EN TOR RCZKIVL EV -A'TTOR/VEY March 31, 1953 I R. c. KIVLEY 2,633,234

DIE BLOCK FOR WIRE DRAWING MACHINES Filed Oct 4, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG. 4

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INVENTOR R. C.K/VLY A TTORNEY Patented Mar. 31, 1953 PATENT OFFICE DIE BLOCKFOR DRAWING MACHINES Ray C. Kivley, Kenmore, N. Y., 'assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York,..N. Y.,, a corporation of New York Application October4, 1950, Serial No. 188,444

' 4 Claimsr (01. 205-25) This invention relates to. die blocks for wire drawing machines and has for its object'an open" structure rendering the dies more accessible and permitting freer circulation of the drawing compound.

In conventional wire drawing machines, par

ticularly those; .employed for the final drawing operations, stepped capstans controlthe advance-1 ment of the wire longitudinally in paths where the reducing dies are placed. Several dies areemployed in machines of this type and as a rule they are fixedly Jmounted in holders which completely surround the dies and become a part oi the die block. During the operation of wire. draw-J ing machines, a suitable wire drawingcompound flows over the support for the, dies. and other portions of the machine, to completely cover the In conventional die block. structures, sediment'be.

portions of the wire in advance of the dies.

comes trapped in the support adjacent the dies, frequently causing misalignment of the dies. 1

Another object of the invention is to overcome these difiiculties by providing substantially 'un-' carried by oneof the members for a die to rest, thereon and to he positioned thereby, whereby..- the: aperture of the die Will be aligned with the-l path of the wire; More specifically, the spaced projections are pins circular in cross section, and; as the dieis of a similar, crosssectional con-toun} thedrawing compound may circulate freely by."

gravity and there are nopockets-or ledges where},

sediment may accumulate.

Other objects and advantages will be apparen from the following detailed description when con-, sidered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a schematic illustration of a wire drawing machine embodying the invention; -j

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the die block;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along I the line 3--3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is an isometric view of the die block; Referring now to the drawings, attention is first directed to Fig. 1 which illustrates a wire;

drawing machine having a supply spool ID of the wire II to be drawn. The wire H travels upwardly over a sheave l2 and around stepped capstans l4 and I5 of the top unit, after which the wire travels over a sheave l6 to the lowerunit.

The lower unit is substantially identical to the upper unit with the exception of the diameters of the steps of the capstans I11 and 18 and, of course, the sizes of the dies supported by the die blocks l9 and 20. The finished'wire, upon leaving the lower unit, travels around a sheave 2! to a take-up reel 22. A wire drawing compound 24 is supplied so that it will travel by gravity through the die: blocks 19 and 20 and over the capstans l5 and H on one side and M and 18 on the other.

The invention is embodied in the die blocks 19 and 2!) which are substantiallyidenticalin structure, the only difference being in the sizesof the die cavities to bring about the required reduction in the wire as it passes through the successive dies. A description oithe die block. 19 will apply equally well to the die block 20. Attention is now directed to Figs. 2, 3, and 4, which illustrate the die block having a mounting plate 29 secured to the main frame or housing of the machine and having a central member 30 or'm-ain support fixed thereto. The member 30 is of the contour shown and is provided with a plurality of apertures or notches 31 adjacent the paths of the portions of the wire traveling in straight lines between the steps of the capstans M and 15. Dies 32. circular in cross section, have passageways or cavities 33 and in the present embodiment of the invention these dies are also provided with the. usual diamonds to assure accurate, long wearing dies.

By viewing Figs. 3 and 4, it will be apparent 30, and through the staggered arrangement oi the dies, the supporting pins or projections on one side will not interfere with those on the other side of the main member 30.

Outer members 3'! and 38 are fixed to the main member 30 by bolts 39 while spacers in the form of sleeves 40 assure accurate spacing of the outer members from the main member 30 and also from the dies 32.

Consider now the function of the die block with the structures illustrated in Figs. 2 to 4 1nclusive mounted in the machine as shown in Fig. 1. During the normal operation of the machine, the various portions of the wire are advanced by the rotation of the capstans, pulling these portions through their respective dies 32. While the drawing compound 24 drops by gravity through the open die blocks I9 and iii], the members 39, 31, and 38 of the die blocks are parallel with each other and with the path of the drawing compound 24, permitting the compound to travel freely through the areas wherein the dies are located. The dies 32 in the present embodiment of the invention are not housed in structures completely surrounding them, but are supported in open structures free to receive and be completely surrounded by the drawing compound. The supporting means for the dies include only the pins 35 suitable to provide nests for the dies requiring the smallest surface contacts with the dies for free travel of the drawing compound and the elimination of areas where sediment may accumulate. Furthermore, the dies 32 in resting on their pins 35 are freely accessible should it be necessary to remove any of the dies permanently or temporarily from the die block.

It is to be understood that the above described arrangements are simply illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention. Numerous other arrangements may be readily devised by those skilled in the art which will embody the principles of the invention and fall within the spirit and scope thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. A die block, for dies circular in cross section for each wire drawing position, mounted in a wire drawing machine in a path of a Wire drawing compound fed by gravity to the dies and portions of a wire being drawn thereby, the die block comprising a vertically positioned mainsupport having'a surface lying in a given plane, and individual-nests for the circular dies composed solely of sets of spaced pin-like members supported by the main support, extending laterally from the surface thereof and being smooth surfaced whereby the drawing compound may travel freely through the die block and about the dies and wire portions free of any retaining pockets.

' 2. A die block, for dies circular in cross section for each wire drawin position, mounted in awire drawing machine in a path of a wire drawing compound fed by gravity to the dies and portions of a wire being drawn thereby, the die block comprising a vertically positioned main support having asurface lying in a given plane,.and individual nests for the circular dies composed solely of sets of spaced pin-like members supported by the main support, extending laterally from the surface thereof and being smooth surfaced whereby the drawing compound may'travel freely through the die block and about the dies and wire portions free of any retaining pockets and a vertically positioned element mounted adjacent to but spaced from the pin-like members of the nests to maintain the dies against displacement relative to their nests longitudinally of the wire portions.

3. A die block, for dies circular in cross section for each wire drawing position, mounted in a wire drawing machine in a path of a wire drawing compound fed by gravity to the dies and portions of a wire being drawn thereby, the die block comprising a vertically positioned main support having side surfaces lying in parallel planes and apertures for the wire portions, and individual nests for the circular dies composed solely of sets of spaced pin-like members supported by the main support and extending laterally from out of aligned portions of their parallel surfaces and being smooth surfaced whereby the drawing compound may travel freely through the die block and about the dies and wire portions on both sides of the main support free of any retaining pockets.

4. A die block, for dies circular in cross section for each wire drawing position, mounted in a wire drawing machine in a path of a wire drawing compound fed by gravity to the dies and portions of a wire being drawn thereby, the die block comprising a vertically positioned main support having side surfaces lying in parallel planes and apertures for the wire portions and individual nests for the circular dies composed solely of sets of spaced pin-like members supported by the main support and extending laterally from out of aligned portions of their parallel surfaces and being smooth surfaced whereby the drawing compound may travel freely through the die block and and about the dies and wire portions on both sides of the main support free of any retaining pockets and vertically positioned elements mounted adjacent to but spaced from their respective pin-like members to maintain their respective dies against displacement relative to their nests longitudinally of the wire portions.

RAY C. KIV'LEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 20,067 -Busey Aug. 18, 1936' 396,437 Smith 1. Jan. 22, 1889 543,858 Edwards Aug. 6, 1895 1,031,572 Nacken July 2, 1912 1,344,568 1 Sullivan et al June 22, 1920 1,452,312 Pierson Apr. 17, 1923 1,977,327 Smith Oct. 16, 1934 2,044,484 Pierson et a1 June 16, 1936 2,237,527 Lewis Apr. 8, 1941 

